A case of ich, please help!

[God of thunder]

Hi there,

I recently bought a pair of blue cheek gobys and a bicolor blenny.
Anyway i haven´t seen a case of ich infected fishes since i first set up the tank. I saw a few spots on my regal tang today so here are the questions...

1. do you think that the those new fish could have hosted it? if so, why isn´t one of them infected?

2. how can i treat the disease?

 

[cwoods8]

1) More than likely the ich was already with the tang (as they are magnets), just took the right nudge to push the balance towards the parasites favor....i.e. some stress factor as the introduction of new tankmates....

2 options can be available......

One.......do nothing (though not my personal choice) and see if the fish can build an immunity towards the parasite.....perhaps soaking their food in garlic....but note that the parasite will not be eradicated, even if you never notice it.. With the intro- of a newcomer could quickly reactivate the disease as the newcomer has not attained the immunity to that particular strain..

2) The best option.......going fallow for up to 6 weeks, disrupting the life cycle of the parasite, while treating the fish in hospital tank (take them all out.....even if no signs of ich) with "cupramine"

last but not least..........qt all new-comers!!!!(i learned the hard way and lost a lot of fish........to the point of quitting the hobby all together....to the dreaded velvet)

good luck!

 

[PSLee]

I highly recommend the articles below. Good luck!

Feature Article: Identifying Parasitic Diseases in Marine Aquarium Fish - A Hobbyist’s Guide to Identifying Some Common Marine Aquarium Parasites
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/aafeature1/view?searchterm=disease

Aquarium Fish: Applications for Hyposalinity Therapy: The Benefits of Salinity Manipulation for Marine Fish
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish/view?searchterm=bartelme

Hyposalinity Treatment
http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/hyposalinity.html

Quarantining Marine Livestock
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/quaranti.htm

To Quarantine or not to Quarantine?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i4/quarantine/Quarantine.htm

 

[God of thunder]

Ok, i tried to soak the food in fresh garlic, and this morning no ich remained

 

[e55MD]

God of Thunder,

Don't be fooled into thinking that the garlic cured your ich. The cysts probably fell off the fish to move to the next phase of their lifecycle. Give it a week or two and the infestation willl be back and even worse. You need to get your fish out of your DT into a hospital tank and treat with Cupramine or hyposalinity. Your DT needs to run fallow for 6-8 weeks to rid it of the ich.

Good luck.

 

[God of thunder]

Ok, i have a medium-large regal tang, how should the qt be set up, whats the minimum size?